Blood Simple (1984)
September 9, 2026
Shannon Mauck of the Neighborhood Comedy Theatre joins us to dig into Blood Simple (1984), the lean, sweaty debut that first put the Coen brothers on the map.
Nathan Blackwell is a Phoenix-based filmmaker who began his career like many of his counter-parts, as a weird eleven year-old kid running around with a camera. In 1998 he directed his first feature film, Forever Midnight, and in 2007 he created his production company Squishy Studios, with which he produced numerous short films and the award winning, two season web series Voyage Trekkers. He's won over 40 filmmaking awards, including six ADDYs for directing commercial and branded content, was named by the New Times as one of Phoenix's 100 Creatives, and recently won Filmmaker of the Year at the Phoenix Film Festival for his feature film "The Last Movie Ever Made."
Shannon Mauck of the Neighborhood Comedy Theatre joins us to dig into Blood Simple (1984), the lean, sweaty debut that first put the Coen brothers on the map.
Dorian Lenz of the Neighborhood Comedy Theatre joins us to dig into Above the Law (1988), the film that introduced the world to Steven Seagal’s particular blend of aikido, righteous fury, and remarkable hair choices.
We welcome special guest Pete Wright of TruStory FM to dig into Never Say Never Again (1983), the unofficial Bond outing that dragged Sean Connery back into the tux via one very petty lawsuit.
Nate McWhortor joins us to dig into The Living Daylights (1987), the movie that hands the tuxedo to a brand-new 007 and asks the trio whether “Bond summer” gets even better on the second stop.
Jeff Frank joins to discuss “A View to a Kill”, Roger Moore’s final outing as 007. Expect microchips, motorized blimps, and real disagreement over just how silly a Bond movie can get.
Grace Campbell of Adventures in Collide Podcast joins us to dig into Can’t Buy Me Love (1987)—a Patrick Dempsey gem perpetually overshadowed by the John Hughes canon.
Krissy, Nathan, and guest Mandy Kaplan revisit When Harry Met Sally… (1989)—Nora Ephron’s screenplay, Harry’s infamous thesis, and what it’s like to finally watch a film you’ve only known in clips.
Pete Wright joins us to dig into Brian De Palma’s The Untouchables (1987), where the real question isn’t whether Al Capone goes down, but how far a Fed is willing to bend to make it happen.
We strap in for Philip Kaufman’s sweeping 1983 epic The Right Stuff—a film so genuinely, stubbornly good that it nearly breaks our ability to snark about it.
Francis Zagarigo and Jenna Jacobsen of the Very Fine Friends podcast join us to take on Invasion U.S.A., the Chuck Norris one-man-army spectacular.